Young Folks Treasury, Volume 3 (of 12) by Various
V >>
Various >> Young Folks Treasury, Volume 3 (of 12)
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
33 |
34 |
35 |
36 |
37 |
38 |
39 Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
file which includes the original illustrations.
See 15560-h.htm or 15560-h.zip:
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/5/5/6/15560/15560-h/15560-h.htm)
or
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/5/5/6/15560/15560-h.zip)
YOUNG FOLKS' TREASURY
In 12 Volumes
HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE, Editor
EDWARD EVERETT HALE, Associate Editor
VOLUME III: CLASSIC TALES AND OLD-FASHIONED STORIES
HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE, Editor
DANIEL EDWIN WHEELER, Assistant Editor
New York
The University Society Inc.
Publishers
1909
PARTIAL LIST OF EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS
HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE
Editor
EDWARD EVERETT HALE
Associate Editor
DANIEL EDWIN WHEELER
Managing Editor
Partial List of Contributors, Assistant Editors and Advisers:
NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER, President Columbia University.
WILLIAM R. HARPER, Late President Chicago University.
Hon. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, Ex-President of the United States.
Hon. GROVER CLEVELAND, Late President of the United States.
JAMES CARDINAL GIBBONS, American Roman Catholic prelate.
LAWRENCE J. BURPEE, Librarian Ottawa Public Library; author of
"Canadian Life in Town and Country," etc.
BLISS CARMAN, poet, essayist, and editor.
THOMAS B. FLINT, Clerk House of Commons, Canada; editor "Parliamentary
Practice and Procedure."
AGNES C. LAUT, author "Lords of the North," "Hudson's Bay Company,"
etc.
BECKLES WILLSON, author of "The Romance of Canada," "Life and Letters
of James Wolfe," etc.
EDWARD W. BOK, editor "Ladies' Home Journal."
HENRY VAN DYKE, author, poet, and Professor of English Literature,
Princeton University.
LYMAN ABBOTT, author, editor of "The Outlook."
JACOB A. RIIS, author and journalist.
EDWARD EVERETT HALE, JR., Professor at Union College.
CHARLES G.D. ROBERTS, writer of animal stories.
JANET H. KELMAN, author "Stories from the Crusades," "A Book of
Butterflies," etc.
VAUTIER GOLDING, author "Life of Henry M. Stanley," etc.
LENA DALKEITH, author "A Book of Beasts," "Stories from French
History," etc.
H.E. MARSHALL, author "A Child's History of England." "History of
English Literature," etc.
JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS, creator of "Uncle Remus."
GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON, novelist and journalist.
WILLIAM BLAIKIE, author of "How to Get Strong and How to Stay So."
JOSEPH JACOBS, folklore writer and editor of the "Jewish
Encyclopedia."
Mrs. VIRGINIA TERHUNE ("Marlon Harland"), author of "Common Sense in
the Household," etc.
A.D. INNES, author "England Under the Tudors," "England's Industrial
Development," etc.
EDMUND F. SELLAR, author "Life of Nelson," etc.
MARY MACGREGOR, author "King Arthur's Knights," etc.
JEANIE LANG, author "Life of General Gordon," etc.
Rev. THEODORE WOOD, F.E.S., writer on natural history.
MARGARET E. SANGSTER, author of "The Art of Home-Making," etc.
HERBERT T. WADE, editor and writer on physics.
JOHN H. CLIFFORD, editor and writer.
ERNEST INGERSOLL, naturalist and author.
IDA PRENTICE WHITCOMB, author of "Young People's Story of Music,"
"Heroes of History," etc.
MARK HAMBOURG, pianist and composer.
Mme. BLANCHE MARCHESI, opera singer and teacher.
ELBRIDGE S. BROOKS, author "Historic Boys," etc.
PAULINE C. BOUVE, author "Stories of American Heroes for Boys and
Girls," etc.
CONTENTS
Introduction
CLASSIC TALES
Don Quixote
By Miguel Cervantes. Adapted by John Lang
I. HOW DON QUIXOTE WAS KNIGHTED
II. HOW DON QUIXOTE RESCUED ANDRES; AND HOW HE RETURNED HOME
III. HOW DON QUIXOTE AND SANCHO PANZA STARTED ON THEIR SEARCH FOR
ADVENTURES; AND HOW DON QUIXOTE FOUGHT WITH THE WINDMILLS
IV. HOW DON QUIXOTE WON A HELMET; HOW HE FOUGHT WITH TWO ARMIES; AND
HOW SANCHO'S ASS WAS STOLEN
V. HOW DON QUIXOTE SAW DULCINEA
VI. HOW DON QUIXOTE FOUGHT WITH A LION; AND HOW HE DEFEATED THE MOORS
VII. THE BATTLE WITH THE BULLS; THE FIGHT WITH THE KNIGHT OF THE WHITE
MOON; AND HOW DON QUIXOTE DIED
Gulliver's Travels: Voyage to Lilliput
By Jonathan Swift. Adapted by John Lang
I. GULLIVER'S BIRTH AND EARLY VOYAGES
II. GULLIVER IS WRECKED ON THE COAST OF LILLIPUT
III. GULLIVER IS TAKEN AS A PRISONER TO THE CAPITAL OF LILLIPUT
IV. GULLIVER IS FREED, AND CAPTURES THE BLEFUSCAN FLEET
V. GULLIVER'S ESCAPE FROM LILLIPUT AND RETURN TO ENGLAND
The Arabian Nights
Adapted by Amy Steedman
I. ALADDIN AND THE WONDERFUL LAMP
II. THE ENCHANTED HORSE
III. SINDBAD THE SAILOR
The Iliad of Homer
Adapted by Jeanie Lang
I. THE STORY Of WHAT LED TO THE SIEGE OF TROY
II. THE COUNCIL
III. THE FIGHT BETWEEN PARIS AND MENELAUS
IV. HECTOR AND ANDROMACHE
V. HOW PATROCLUS FOUGHT AND DIED
VI. THE ROUSING OF ACHILLES
The Odyssey of Homer
Adapted by Jeanie Lang
I. WHAT HAPPENED IN ITHACA WHILE ODYSSEUS WAS AWAY
II. HOW ODYSSEUS CAME HOME
Robinson Crusoe
By Daniel Defoe. Adapted by John Lang
I. HOW ROBINSON FIRST WENT TO SEA; AND HOW HE WAS SHIPWRECKED
II. ROBINSON WORKS HARD AT MAKING HIMSELF A HOME
III. THE EARTHQUAKE AND HURRICANE; AND HOW ROBINSON BUILT A BOAT
IV. ROBINSON BUILDS A SECOND BOAT, IN WHICH HE IS SWEPT OUT TO SEA
V. ROBINSON SEES A FOOTPRINT ON THE SAND, FINDS A CAVE, AND RESCUES
FRIDAY
VI. ROBINSON TRAINS FRIDAY AND THEY BUILD A LARGE BOAT; THEY RESCUE
TWO PRISONERS FROM THE CANNIBALS
VII. ARRIVAL OF AN ENGLISH SHIP: ROBINSON SAILS FOR HOME
Canterbury Tales
By Geoffrey Chaucer. Adapted by Janet Harvey Kelman
I. DORIGEN
II. EMELIA
III. GRISELDA
The Pilgrim's Progress
By John Bunyan. Adapted by Mary Macgregor
Tales from Shakespeare
By Charles and Mary Lamb
I. THE TEMPEST
II. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
OLD-FASHIONED STORIES
Simple Susan
By Maria Edgeworth. Adapted by Louey Chisholm
I. QUEEN OF THE MAY
II. BAD NEWS
III. SUSAN'S GUINEA-FOWL
IV. SUSAN VISITS THE ABBEY
V. SUSAN'S PET LAMB
VI. THE BLIND HARPER
VII. GOOD NEWS
VIII. BARBARA VISITS THE ABBEY
IX. A SURPRISE FOR SUSAN
X. BARBARA'S ACCIDENT
XI. THE PRIZE-GIVING
XII. ATTORNEY CASE IN TROUBLE
XIII. SUSAN'S BIRTHDAY
Limby Lumpy
The Sore Tongue
By Jane Taylor
Eyes and No Eyes, or The Art of Seeing
By John Aikin and Mrs. Barbauld
Prince Life
By G.P.R. James
The Fruits of Disobedience, or The Kidnapped Child
Dicky Random, or Good Nature Is Nothing Without Good Conduct
Embellishment
By Jacob Abbott
The Oyster Patties
Two Little Boys
By Thomas Day
I. THE GOOD-NATURED LITTLE BOY
II. THE ILL-NATURED LITTLE BOY
The Purple Jar
By Maria Edgeworth
The Three Cakes
By Armand Berquin
Amendment
Trial
By John Aikin and Mrs. Barbauld
A Plot of Gunpowder: An Old Lady Seized for a Guy
Ascribed to William Martin ("Peter Parley")
Uncle David's Nonsensical Story About Giants and Fairies
By Katherine Sinclair
The Inquisitive Girl
Busy Idleness
By Jane Taylor
The Renowned History of Little Goody Two-Shoes
Ascribed to Oliver Goldsmith
INTRODUCTION
I. HOW AND ABOUT LITTLE MARGERY AND HER BROTHER
II. HOW AND ABOUT MR. SMITH
III. HOW LITTLE MARGERY OBTAINED THE NAME OF GOODY TWO-SHOES, AND
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PARISH
IV. HOW LITTLE MARGERY LEARNED TO READ, AND BY DEGREES TAUGHT OTHERS
V. HOW LITTLE TWO-SHOES BECAME A TROTTING TUTORESS, AND HOW SHE
TAUGHT HER YOUNG PUPILS
VI. HOW THE WHOLE PARISH WAS FRIGHTENED
VII. CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF ALL THE SPIRITS OR THINGS SHE SAW IN THE
CHURCH
VIII. OF SOMETHING WHICH HAPPENED TO LITTLE MARGERY TWO-SHOES IN A
BARN, MORE DREADFUL THAN THE GHOST IN THE CHURCH; AND HOW SHE
RETURNED GOOD FOR EVIL TO HER ENEMY, SIR TIMOTHY
IX. HOW LITTLE MARGERY WAS MADE PRINCIPAL OF A COUNTRY COLLEGE
(Part Two.) The Renowned History of Mrs. Margery Two-Shoes
I. OF HER SCHOOL, HER USHERS, OR ASSISTANTS, AND HER MANNER OF
TEACHING
II. A SCENE OF DISTRESS IN A SCHOOL
III. OF THE AMAZING SAGACITY AND INSTINCT OF A LITTLE DOG
IV. WHAT HAPPENED AT FARMER GROVE'S, AND HOW SHE GRATIFIED HIM FOR
THE USE OF HIS ROOM
V. THE CASE OF MRS. MARGERY
VI. THE TRUE USE OF RICHES
ILLUSTRATIONS
VOLUME III
THE HORSE FLEW THROUGH THE AIR
"PAY AT ONCE, YOU SCOUNDREL"
HORSE AND MAN WERE SENT ROLLING ON THE GROUND
THE BULLS HAD RUN RIGHT OVER HIM AND ROZINANTE
HE FOUND THAT HIS ARMS AND LEGS WERE TIGHTLY FASTENED TO THE GROUND
GULLIVER IN LILLIPUT
ON THIS OCCASION, GULLIVER ATE MORE THAN USUAL
ALADDIN AND THE MAGICIAN
HINDBAD WAS CARRYING A VERY HEAVY LOAD
FROM FAR AND WIDE DID THE GREEK HOSTS GATHER
ANDROMACHE IN CAPTIVITY
TELEMACHUS KNELT WHERE THE GRAY WATER BROKE ON THE SAND
THE ESCAPE FROM THE SHIPWRECK
HE SAW THE MARK OF A NAKED FOOT ON THE SAND
ROBINSON RAN TO THE WHITE PRISONER AND CUT HIS BONDS
ALAS! OF ALL THE SHIPS I SEE, IS THERE NEVER ONE THAT WILL BRING MY
LORD HOME?
THE CURTAIN AT THE DOORWAY WAS DRAWN ASIDE
THEN DID CHRISTIAN DRAW HIS SWORD
MIRANDA WATCHING THE STORM
THE FAIRIES SING TITANIA TO SLEEP
BENDING DOWN A BRANCH OF THE LABURNUM-TREE
"IT WON'T DO," SAID BARBARA, TURNING HER BACK
"AND HERE'S HER CROWN!" CRIED ROSE
SHE SPOKE OF WHAT SHE DID NOT UNDERSTAND
HE WAS WANTED TO HOLD THE JUG OF MILK
HE TOOK THE CURRANT TART, AND ... THREW IT AT HIS NURSE
ROSAMOND RAN UP TO IT WITH AN EXCLAMATION OF JOY
WIDOW DOROTHY CAREFUL MADE A CURTSEY
THE GOAT DASHED IN AMONG THEM AND THE CHAIR WAS UPSET
EACH OF MY VISITORS IS QUITE AN EXCLUSIVE
IF LOUISA RECEIVED A NOTE, SHE CAREFULLY LOCKED IT UP
(Many of the illustrations in this volume are reproduced by special
permission of E.P. Dutton & Company, owners of American rights.)
INTRODUCTION
I
CLASSIC TALES
After our boys and girls have read the first half of this volume,
containing selected and simplified stories from some of the greatest
books of all time, their authors will cease to be merely names. Homer,
Shakespeare, Chaucer, Cervantes and Bunyan will be found here as
familiar and easy in style as "Cinderella" or "The Three Bears." True
enough, the first word in "Classic Tales" may look somewhat alarming
to the eyes of youthful seekers after romance and adventure, but we
challenge them to turn to any one of these selections from immortal
masterpieces and not become spellbound and, moreover, impatient for
more. And, believing now that they have grown very much interested in
these famous books, of course we also believe they want to learn
something about them.
Following the order of our stories we must begin with "Don Quixote."
Its author wrote it under great difficulties and distress; but one
would never think so, as it is full of laughable doings. When you read
our selections you must not think that Don Quixote was merely a silly
old man, for indeed he was a very noble gentleman and tried with all
his might to do what he believed to be his duty, and in no act of his
life was there ever a stain of dishonor or of meanness. As for his
queer fancies, you will find in your own experience that many things
are not as they seem.
Next comes one of Gulliver's voyages. Under all this account of a tiny
race of people there is fun poked at government and its ministers.
But we do not concern ourselves with such matters--all we think about
is the wonderful deeds of Gulliver in the land of the Lilliputians. Do
not think such people are impossible, for did not Stanley, the
explorer, find in Africa a race of dwarfs so little that he called
them pygmies? And perhaps when some of our young readers grow up,
they, too, may discover small folks in the world.
In regard to the "Arabian Nights," from which we give you three choice
stories, you ought to know the way they came to be told. Once upon a
time, a Sultan of Arabia thought that all women were of not much use,
so every day he married a new wife, and before twenty-four hours were
over he ordered that she have her head cut off. One brave woman
thought of a clever plan by which she could end this cruelty. She went
to the palace and offered to marry the Sultan, and that night she
began to tell him such fascinating stories that when morning came he
still wished to hear more. He commanded that she should not be
beheaded until all her stories were told. Then for a thousand and one
nights, night after night, she gave him fresh stories, and by the end
of that time the Sultan had fallen very much in love with her.
Naturally, they lived happily forever after. Perhaps these three
stories which we have selected will compel you to seek out all the
rest, and if you do, we are quite sure you will not wonder that the
brave lady won the heart of the wicked Sultan and made him good.
From the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" of Homer, we have given you some
soul-stirring happenings. Several thousand years ago these stories
were sung by a blind minstrel named Homer. Some day you may read
Homer's sublime poetry in the original Greek, and the selections which
we give you will help you to remember the stories when you are
struggling with that difficult language.
Parts of the old favorite "Robinson Crusoe" follow the Grecian tales,
and we trust its simple language will make the little ones love it
more than ever. You will remember that Defoe wrote this nearly two
hundred years ago. Everybody liked long stories in those days, but we
have all heard children of to-day ask when a somewhat lengthy book
would end, no matter how interesting, and many grown-ups are guilty
of reading the close of a story before they have gone very far in it.
So with that in mind we have put down in brief form most of Robinson
Crusoe's important adventures during his twenty-eight years on the
desert island.
Here we also give three splendid stories from Chaucer's "Canterbury
Tales," which were supposedly told to one another by a party of
pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. According to our gentle author,
who was one of them, they stopped over night at a house in England
called the Tabard Inn, and here they passed the hours repeating fine
stories. Afterward Chaucer wrote these down in a book in quaint old
English. One might look at these words all day long and not know in
the least what what some of them meant, though they do hold such
beautiful tales.
Now about "Pilgrim's Progress." More than two hundred years ago a
tinker named John Bunyan was in jail, but one night this poor man left
his prison and wandered into the land of dreams. There he saw
wonderful sights and heard marvelous things, and as there was no one
to listen to his dream, John Bunyan wrote it down, and had it made
into a book. And this he called "The Pilgrim's Progress." It was about
the journey and adventures of a pilgrim and his companions. In our
version we have given most of the dream, but when the boys and girls
grow older they will want to read it all in Bunyan's own language, and
we hope this account will lead them to do so.
Shakespeare is a magic name to grown-ups, but to children it does not
mean much. All they know is, that sometimes this name is spelled on
the back of one fat volume, sometimes on three, sometimes on a dozen
or more, but of the inside they know almost nothing, and when they
hear persons say that Shakespeare is the greatest writer that ever
lived, they wonder about it. If they take down a volume containing one
of his plays, they think it very dull, but here in simple language we
present the stories of two of the most fairy-like and beautiful plays,
as retold for children by Charles and Mary Lamb.
DANIEL EDWIN WHEELER.
II
OLD-FASHIONED STORIES
There is much truth in the saying that "old things are best, old books
are best, old friends are best." We like to connect in thought our
best-loved books and our best-loved friends. A good friend must have
some of the wisdom of a good book, though good books often talk to us
with wisdom and also with humor and courtesy greater than any living
friend may show. "Sometimes we think books are the best friends; they
never interrupt or contradict or criticise us."
Every year in our own country about ten thousand books are published.
Most of them die in early life. Three hundred years from now every one
of this year's ten thousand books will be dead and forgotten, except
possibly thirty or forty. The very best books do not die young. The
books written about three hundred years ago that are read to-day--like
Shakespeare's plays--are as a rule the books that deserve to live
forever. And, "Gentle Reader," if you are wise you will see _why_ the
old books are best: they are the wheat, and the winds of time have
blown only the chaff away.
Is it not strange that in the olden times so few poems or books or
stories were written for children? The "Iliad," the stories of King
Arthur, the "Canterbury Tales," and "Gulliver's Travels" and "Robinson
Crusoe," were written for men and women.
But happily this is the children's age, and now nearly half of all the
books written are written for children. You must remember, however,
that all boys and girls are children--in the eyes of the law--till
they are twenty-one years old.
We know a little boy who read last week a very modern story. The book
was bound in red cloth. It had a gilt top and very modern pictures
drawn by a great artist and printed in three or four colors. How
different from the books of one hundred years ago, with their black
covers and queer pictures!
This story read by the little New York boy last week has been read by
many little boys in Iowa, and by many little girls in Georgia. It
tells about an orphan boy who was "bound out" to a farmer who treated
him cruelly. He ran away to the Rocky Mountain region, where he had
many adventures with robbers and Indians and blizzards. He was strong
and heroic; he could shoot straight and ride the swiftest horses, and
nothing ever hurt him very much.
This, as I have said, is a modern story. It does not tell the reader
to be truthful and good. It just tells him a story of thrilling
adventures and daring escapes from danger. But the old-fashioned story
is different; and now we are getting close to our subject.
I will tell you all about the old-fashioned stories in a moment; but I
must remind you that these old stories were written about a hundred
years ago. They were usually written to teach a moral lesson. Dear old
John Aikin, or his sister Anna Letitia Barbauld, or Maria Edgeworth,
or Jane Taylor would say some morning--at any rate, so it seems to
me--"I will write a story to-day to teach boys and girls to be
industrious." And so "Busy Idleness" was written. Or one of these old
authors would decide to write a story the main object of which was to
teach little girls not to be too curious, and so "The Inquisitive
Girl" was written. Both of these stories, and many others equally
good, are found in this volume.
I could really tell you many interesting things about these
old-fashioned stories but I will do something better--urge you to read
them yourself. They are quaint, delightful, and entertaining stories,
besides teaching a moral. You boys and girls should read every one of
them, and then read them again, out loud, to your mothers or to
anybody else who will listen.
Among all the old-fashioned stories in this volume I find only one
that seems to me "really funny," and that is "Uncle David's
Nonsensical Story about the Giants and Fairies." Think of a giant so
tall that "he was obliged to climb up a ladder to comb his own hair."
But this bit of humor is not so good as a very modern nonsense-story
entitled "The Giant's Shoes," which I read the other day, and from
which the Managing Editor permits me to quote this little passage:
"The Giant slept for three weeks at a time, and two days after he
woke his breakfast was brought to him, consisting of bright brown
horses sprinkled on his bread and butter. Besides his boots, the Giant
had a pair of shoes, and in one of them his wife lived when she was at
home; on other occasions she lived in the other shoe. She was a
sensible, practical kind of woman, with two wooden legs and a
clothes-horse, but in other respects not rich. The wooden legs were
kept pointed at both ends, in order that if the Giant were
dissatisfied with his breakfast, he might pick up any stray people
that were within reach, using his wife as a fork; this annoyed the
inhabitants of the district, so that they built their church in a
southwesterly direction from the castle, behind the Giant's back, that
he might not be able to pick them up as they went in. But those who
stayed outside to play pitch-and-toss were exposed to great danger and
sufferings."
G.J.B.
CLASSIC TALES
DON QUIXOTE
By MIGUEL CERVANTES
ADAPTED BY JOHN LANG
I
HOW DON QUIXOTE WAS KNIGHTED
Some three or four hundred years ago, there lived in sunny Spain an
old gentleman named Quixada, who owned a house and a small property
near a village in La Mancha.
With him lived his niece, a housekeeper, and a man who looked after
Quixada's farm and his one old white horse, which, though its master
imagined it to be an animal of great strength and beauty, was really
as lean as Quixada himself and as broken down as any old cab horse.
Quixada had nothing in the world to do in the shape of work, and so,
his whole time was taken up in reading old books about knights and
giants, and ladies shut up in enchanted castles by wicked ogres. In
time, so fond did he become of such tales that he passed his days, and
even the best part of his nights, in reading them. His mind was so
wholly taken up in this way that at last he came to believe that he
himself lived in a land of giants and of ogres, and that it was his
duty to ride forth on his noble steed, to the rescue of unhappy
Princesses.
In the lumber-room of Quixada's house there had lain, ever since he
was born, a rusty old suit of armor, which had belonged to his
great-grandfather. This was now got out, and Quixada spent many days
in polishing and putting it in order.
Unfortunately, there was no more than half of the helmet to be found,
and a knight cannot ride forth without a helmet.
So Quixada made the other half of strong pasteboard; and to prove that
it was strong enough, when finished, he drew his sword and gave the
helmet a great slash. Alas! a whole week's work was ruined by that one
stroke; the pasteboard flew into pieces. This troubled Quixada sadly,
but he set to work at once and made another helmet of pasteboard,
lining it with thin sheets of iron, and it looked so well that, this
time, he put it to no test with his sword.
Now that his armor was complete, it occurred to him that he must give
his horse a name--every knight's horse should have a good name--and
after four days thought he decided that "Rozinante" would best suit
the animal.
Then, for himself, after eight days of puzzling, he resolved that he
should be called Don Quixote de la Mancha.
There was but one thing more. Every knight of olden time had a lady,
whom he called the Mistress of his Heart, whose glove he wore in his
helmet; and if anybody dared to deny that this lady was the most
beautiful woman in the whole world, then the knight made him prove his
words by fighting.
So it was necessary that Don Quixote should select some lady as the
Mistress of his Heart.
Near La Mancha there lived a stout country lass, for whom some years
before Don Quixote had had a kind of liking. Who, therefore, could
better take the place of Mistress of his Heart? To whom could he
better send the defeated knights and ogres whom he was going out to
fight? It was true that her name. Aldonza Lorenzo, did not sound like
that of a Princess or lady of high birth; so he determined in future
to call her Dulcinea del Toboso. No Princess could have a sweeter
name!
All being now ready, one morning Don Quixote got up before daylight,
and without saying a word to anybody, put on his armor, took his
sword, and spear, and shield, saddled "Rozinante," and started on his
search for adventures.
But before he had gone very far, a dreadful thought struck him. He had
not been knighted! Moreover, he had read in his books that until a
knight had done some great deed, he must wear white armor, and be
without any device or coat of arms on his shield. What was to be done?
He was so staggered by this thought that he almost felt that he must
turn back. But then he remembered that he had read how adventurers
were sometimes knighted by persons whom they happened to meet on the
road. And as to his armor, why, he thought he might scour and polish
that till nothing could be whiter. So he rode on, letting "Rozinante"
take which road he pleased, that being, he supposed, as good a way as
any of looking for adventures.
All day he rode, to his sorrow without finding anything worth calling
an adventure.
At last as evening began to fall, and when he and his horse were both
very weary, they came in sight of an inn. Don Quixote no sooner saw
the inn than he fancied it to be a great castle, and he halted at some
distance from it, expecting that, as in days of old, a dwarf would
certainly appear on the battlements, and, by sounding a trumpet, give
notice of the arrival of a knight. But no dwarf appeared, and as
"Rozinante" showed great haste to reach the stable, Don Quixote began
to move towards the inn.
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
33 |
34 |
35 |
36 |
37 |
38 |
39